Jermell Charlo is coming out of his 15-month hibernation phase. He asks the PBC to set up a match for him against the “best” they have at 154.
“Make It Make Sense”
They don’t have anyone at that weight to watch against former undisputed junior middleweight champion Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs). He says, “Make it make sense,” which is code for Jermell’s desire for a massive payday for his comeback. That ship sailed a long time ago.
It doesn’t seem likely unless Turki Alashikh wants to use him for one of his cards to feed him Serhii Bohachuk. That would be fun to watch.
It’s too late for Jermell to fight Terence Crawford. He is hunting big game and trying to get a golden parachute retirement day against Canelo Alvarez. He won’t waste time on a fighter who lacks ambition and has been sitting on his couch for 15 months.
Charlo may have burned his bridges with the no-effort he made against Canelo Alvarez last time out, and he’s ruined what little popularity he still had afterward by sitting on the shelf for over a year.
Jermell was estimated to have earned $20 million in that fight, which may explain why fans haven’t seen skin or hair of him ever since.
It is possible that the PBC could negotiate a fight for Jermell against the newly crowned IBF 154-lb champion Bakram Murtazaliev. However, Charlo, 34, never showed interest in fighting Murtazaliev when he was his IBF mandatory, so it’s hard to see him agreeing to fight him now. If Charlo wants the fastest route to a world title. Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) would be the guy.
Charlo’s demands
“Premier Boxing, give me the best you have or whoever you think can handle me at 154. Let the fans choose. Only lions. Make it make sense,” Jermell Charlo said on social media.
It would be brave of Charlo to challenge the undefeated Murtazaliev for his IBF belt. This guy destroyed former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu by a third-round knockout on October 19, dropping him four times in the fight. If he could do that against an active and still young Tszyu, one could only imagine what Murtazaliev would do to rusty old Jermell.
Jermell looked awful in his one-sided 12-round unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez 15 months ago on September 30, 2023. Charlo didn’t look like he was trying to win the fight as he moved around the ring and played it safe for 12 rounds . Many boxing fans believe that Jermell came to pay the payday and never intended to try to win.
The fact that Jermell hasn’t fought since that loss further adds to the belief that it was always just about the money for him.